On Tuesday night, the 76ers were officially locked into the 11th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. The Sixers also have selections in the second round at #35 and #42. So there are some very important decisions to be made for this franchise come the end of June.

With a high first round pick and two second round picks stashed in their pocket (the 35th pick came to Philly via the New Orleans Hornets)the 76ers could do several things.

First, Sam Hinkie and company could package a combination of picks to move up in the Draft or combine them with a player in a deal as well. However, the Sixers could decide to keep their second round picks and add some young, inexpensive and talented (a.k.a. low risk/high reward) pieces to their roster. This was the preferred thinking of the Houston organization that Hinkie recently departed, so odds are he could be leaning in this direction.

Which brings up the question, “What kind of players will be available at 35 and 42 in the 2013 NBA Draft?”

On Wednesday, the Brooklyn Nets hosted a Draft Combine in which 22 Draft-eligible players — that are considered to have second round talent — participated in. Twenty-two more players will compete in the same type of workout on Thursday. Hinkie, Rod Thorn, and Courtney Witte (Sixers Director of Player Personnel) were all in attendance on Wednesday.

There was a great deal of NBA level talent at the workout, but in my opinion Oklahoma Senior forward Romero Osby was arguably the most impressive big man in the PNY Center. Osby, an agile 6-8, 232 pound beast, averaged 16.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for the Sooners this past season, often dominating the paint. On Wednesday, Osby showed that he has also added the skills to be successful on the perimeter.

After his workout, Osby talked to me about how he’s been working to improve his game and where he thinks he’ll land on June 27th.

“I think I’m a combo-forward,” Osby said. “You know, I’ve really worked on my shot and I’m able to shoot it from the NBA three. But, I can also take bigger defenders off the dribble and smaller defenders in down low.”

An NBA scout, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that Osby could go anywhere from 30-50 depending on how the rest of his workouts go prior to the Draft.

Osby also said that the Sixers have expressed plenty of interest in the Sooner and that the team “really likes [him].” The big man will take a train from New York City on Friday for a workout with the 76ers.

While the Sixers already have Thad Young and Arnett Moultire stashed for the next several years, adding a young, hard working player like Osby could prove very effective for the 7-6. Osby could be a solid off-the-bench stretch-4 in the League just like Draymond Green — drafted 35th in 2012 — was in this year’s Playoffs for the GSW. The Sixers definitely need to bolster their bench to give their starters some well-deserved rest and provide some scoring punch.

Osby could be the hustling, well-rounded big to come off the bench for Thad in 2013-2014.

Jake Fischer is a scribe for Philadunkia. Follow him on Twitter @JakeLFischer.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, May 23rd, 2013
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Definitely a fan of Osby. Hard worker and I really like the comparison to Green. If he could be anything like him, he’d be great for the 76. We should also try and get Nate Wolters out of South Dakota State. He’s an animal. Also heard Mike Muscala as a possibility??

As good as they are at their jobs, nbadraft.net and draftexpress can not evaluate talent as well as NBA scouts. They are really opinion collectors. No one had Osby going in the 2nd round at the end of the college season. However I spoke with two NBA scouts that have seen him workout twice in the last month and both said he is much improved and could go in the late second round. Back in March, they both felt he would never get drafted this June. Opinions on the kid seem to be all over the place, but if he keeps playing well in his other workouts, the 2nd round is a possibility. But again, he has to keep playing at the level he is showing in the recent workouts.

Reggie Bullock doesn’t add much to this teams makeup? I agree that he is similar to a few guys we have but come on, anything adds to this team’s makeup. We have holes everywhere its not like we are adding a piece or two, take the best player available.